As juicing continues to grow in popularity, there are many features on the internet about common juicing mistakes yet the number one mistake is so often overlooked. Natural Juice Junkie ensures you don’t make some of these simple errors when it comes to juicing!
Let’s start by looking at why the majority of people start juicing – and let’s be really honest about this. In my daily work I interact thousands of juicers around the world and without doubt the number one reason people start juicing is weight loss.
Before you shoot me, I know there are so many other reasons to start juicing, but the vast majority of the people that interact with me want to shed pounds. Here is the good news: juicing can provide rapid and significant weight loss and my experience shows that the average person will shed about 7-10 pounds on a 7 days juice cleanse.
So what’s the mistake that many juicers are making? Well, before I tell you what it is, let me explain its importance. It is the difference between obtainable weight loss and sustainable weight loss. When people make this mistake they will get short-term results, but quickly regain the lost weight. Once you know how to avoid it, you can use a juice cleanse to kick start a lasting health change.
‘The mistake is using juicing as the latest fad diet’.
This diet mentality is actually reinforced by many of the juicing books- just look at the covers and you will clearly read the words ‘juice diet’ and this serves to reinforce a diet mentality. What do I mean by a diet mentality? I am talking about people who are juicing because they want to lose weight and want to do it as quickly as possible, yet are not looking to make juicing part of a permanent lifestyle change. These are people who will possibly get highly frustrated, or even angry, when their weight loss slows down, plateaus or their weight goes back up. This is despite the fact they may be feeling healthier overall. They may find juicing a chore but force themselves to stick to a diet plan. Perhaps, they may consider themselves a failure if they eat any solid food.
Thing is they are probably looking for a short-term fix, rather than committing to a long-term health solution. Roughly 8 out of 10 people who go on a diet fail to keep the weight off for any extended period of time. When juicing is treated as a diet, the impact is similar. Personally I only started to achieve sustainable weight loss when I STOPPED dieting. I do personally complete a juice cleanse for around 5-7 days every 3-4 months.
What I have never done though is a long-term juice cleanse, such as those that last for 28 days, 60 days or longer. Don’t get me wrong, long term cleanses can have a dramatic impact, but the results are often unsustainable. This is because sooner or later you will want to start chewing your food again and sadly many people go back to their former eating patterns. From my experience I have to say embracing a lifestyle that includes getting back to nature and consuming lots of plant based foods is the way to achieve sustained weight loss.
I’m not saying you need to quit all processed foods, meat and dairy, but focusing on consuming a high levels of plants, feeds our cells with the nutrients they need. Juicing is a great tool for increasing your intake of plant-based nutrients and something that has been a major catalyst in my own transformation. But you don’t have to do a juice fast or detox to get results. Simply drinking one or two freshly extracted vegetable juices per day can start to show great health benefits. The way to avoid this mistake is to focus on health. When you get your body healthy it will find its natural, healthy weight.
Thanks to Neil Martin – Natural Juice Junkie for this feature article. Find out more at www.naturaljuicejunkie.com
